The grand finale to the 50th Annual Prince Albert Winter Festival has begun, with more than 100 Scouts from throughout the province lighting its annual bonfire.

The lighting of the bonfire and subsequent fireworks display kicks off the opening of the outdoor site, set up along the North Saskatchewan Riverbank a few blocks east of the Prince Albert Historical Museum.

âThe site will be fully open with a childrenâs carnival, petting zoo and king trapper events, and the canteen and fish fry,â Prince Albert Winter Festival president Darrell Prokopie began. âAnd, weâve got the dog races on the river â weâre pretty excited about that.â

Click HERE for a video about the Prince Albert Winter Festival's outdoor site.

Prokopie doesnât have the final numbers in yet, but heâs expecting an impressive turnout for this yearâs dog sled sprint races.

With the festival now in its 50th year, the annual event has been ingrained in mushersâ schedule, he explained, noting that many of the participants in last weekendâs winter festival in The Pas will participate in Prince Albertâs.

âThey continue to go west from Prince Albert, so weâre scheduled into that last weekend of February, so itâs a case of weâre on the circuit,â he said.

Sled dog races will begin at 11 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday, with the balance of the days to 6 p.m. filled out by a plethora of events and activities.

Another popular canine-centred event taking place at this yearâs outdoor site will be the dog pull competition, where people are encouraged to bring their pets to pull weighted sleighs in competition against one another.

The dog pull competition will begin at 2 p.m. on Sunday, with dogs competing against others in their weight category.

On Friday afternoon, a truckload of cute animals was dropped off at the site for a petting zoo, while volunteers set up the king trapper stage and concession area.

âI would like to think that we can have over 10,000 people out to this outdoor site over the course of the weekend,â Prokopie said. âWeatherâs not going to be the warmest, but itâs not bad right now.â

Click HERE for a video about the Prince Albert Winter Festival's Scouts Village, at the outdoor site, and HERE for an article and slideshow of pictures about the Scouts Village.

Admission to all Prince Albert Winter Festival events is a $3 button, plus whatever cover charge is on top of that. There is no additional cover charge for outdoor site events.

I would like to think that we can have over 10,000 people out to this outdoor site over the course of the weekend.Darrell Prokopie

With the outdoor site closing at 6 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday, Prokopie encourages people to spend their evenings at the Country North Show, at the Prince Albert Exhibition Centre.

âItâs an absolutely fantastic show,â he said. âWe encourage people to come check it out. They will not be disappointed.â

A Grand Ole Opry-style performance will take place at 7 p.m. on Saturday, and will be followed by a cabaret-style show at 10 p.m., starring Donny Parenteau and Brian Sklar.

Click HERE for video clips taken during the Country North Show's first 7 p.m. performance on Wednesday, and HERE for an article and slideshow of pictures about the first night.

âInstead of going to the local watering hole and paying a cover charge, come on down to the Prince Albert Exhibition Centre,â Prokopie encouraged. âItâs a minimal charge and great music.â

On Sunday, a much-touted Country North Show Reunion will begin at 7 p.m. Although Saturdayâs shows arenât expected to sell out, Sundayâs might, Prokopie cautioned, encouraged people to arrive early to make sure they get a seat.

Click HERE for an in-depth article about the Country North Reunion Show.